


Foreign Connection

by fraufi666



Category: Political RPF - Australian 20th-21st c.
Genre: Alternate Universe - Politics, Australia, Broadband, Business Trip, Collaboration, M/M, Male Slash, Partnership, Romance, Switzerland, Telecommunications, Temporarily Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 22:03:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4116445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraufi666/pseuds/fraufi666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Malcolm Turnbull goes to Switzerland in order to go forth with plans for a joint integration of two companies, in relation to broadband. However, upon his arrival, there is little interest expressed by the head of the meeting. This is however, only the beginning for there is worse to come in regards to this joint-business…or could it be better?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Foreign Connection

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This story is an AU. Although I have used real people and political figures this is entirely a work of fiction. All romantic encounters, events and insinuations are from my imagination. I mean no disrespect to any of the people depicted. I am also in no way politically biased.

The plane flew over the Swiss Alps, which were magnificently blue against the green fields. A polite, slightly accented female voice filled the overhead speakers. 

  _Arriving at Zürich Kloten Airport. Please ensure that your seatbelt is fastened before we make our landing._

Malcolm Turnbull's eyes fluttered open as he heard the voice. He had been napping for a while, just so he could avoid being jet-lagged whilst staying over in Switzerland. Upon instinct, he went to check his watch, but then remembered that it was still set in Sydney time. No doubt that it was well past midnight over there. Lucy was probably fast asleep. 

 Upon thinking about his wife, he started missing her. Yet he remembered that where he was going was super important. It was the chance for Australia and Switzerland to finally connect in terms of Broadband policy and being the Communications Minister, he could not miss it. That was always the downside to being a politician: having to leave your loved ones behind for an extended period of time due to work. Turnbull decided to give her a call after he had settled in and found his hotel. He had made his way to the hotel without any problems, but being far too tired to enjoy the spectacular view of the hotel, he took a nap. 

 A few hours later, Turnbull had eaten a brief lunch and went to work on some documents on his iPad. While he was reading, he heard a figure approach him. He looked up and smiled politely at a well-dressed blonde woman. 

 "Good afternoon, sir. Are you the Australian Representative for the Swisscom-NBN integration?" Her voice was only slightly accented, revealing many years of learning English. 

 "Yes." Turnbull replied, his eyes on her "I am. And by the way, Fräulein…" He continued, using his knowledge of the German language from viewing  _The Sound of Music_ "When can I see the head for this meeting? I'd like to start discussing things first with a certain..." He looked down at the details that were emailed to him prior to the journey "…A Klaus Liechti?" He asked. 

 The blonde nodded, rather impressed with the man's formal tone "Herr Liechti has been expecting you. We must make haste, for the journey to Bern will take a couple of hours. Follow me. And by the way, sprechen Sie Deutsch?" 

 Turnbull laughed, wishing that he could impress the woman even further "Oh no. We don't have nearly the same multilingualism over in Australia as you do here." 

 "That's quite alright sir." The woman said, leading him up through the well-furnished buffet room and towards the exit. There was already a taxi waiting for them both. Turnbull marvelled with how punctual this whole process was. She waited for him to climb into it first, but he gestured for her to move in first. If there was one thing he was good at doing, it was making a good impression. There was no way that he had wanted to disappoint her or anyone who was about to do business with his country. 

 The car ride was pleasant, but silent. Turnbull was distracted by old-fashioned buildings to strike up any sort of conversation. Quickly, he tried to take a few snapshots on his iPad but did not really get to take any decent ones, for the car was too fast. 

 Finally, the two had reached what had been the Swisscom headquarters. It was a towering building with the sleek, Germanic architecture that was not as present in Australia. Turnbull made his way inside and was introduced by the blonde to another young woman the desk. The receptionist nodded, smiling at Turnbull before making a phone call entirely in German. After hanging up, she requested him to wait until Liechti made his way downstairs. 

 Turnbull sat down reluctantly, preparing himself for a long wait. It was a long day and he had just wanted to rest. But this was what he had signed himself up for and quickly pushed the discouraged thought out of his head. 

 "Ah! Good evening." greeted an accented voice. 

 The Australian stood up quickly and shook hands with Liechti. The other man was slightly shorter and a little bit skinny with dark, youthful hair and rectangular glasses. In fact, now that Turnbull had thought of it, most of the people he had met for business were young…compared to him anyway.  

 "How do you do, Klaus?" Turnbull asked warmly, flashing his trademark grin. The other man smiled slightly, but was far more serious than him. It was to be expected. The Swiss did not like small talk much…or was it the Germans? Turnbull was still too tired to remember. 

 But Liechti gave him no chance to dwell on the thought "You must be Herr Turnbull. Please, come right this way to my office. We need to discuss our plans. A seminar will be held in ten minutes."

 Turnbull gave a slight chuckle "Oh you Swiss people really like to get things done. European efficiency at its finest." 

 The other man looked down nervously before producing a file and flicking through its contents. "Ah, here we are sir. This is the proposal of what we plan to do with your company. I'll present it properly in the seminar later." 

 Turnbull was about to take it off him to read it properly, but the Swiss man managed to turn the page. "I hope we can do good business together." He said politely. "It is good to have you on board." 

 It perplexed Turnbull that this young man was not making much eye contact with him, let alone letting him cooperate with him properly. But nevertheless, he assumed that it was just shyness. He had to remind himself that Europeans had a different way about doing things. Work before pleasure, that sort of thing. Yet he was not too bothered. 

 Reaching down, Turnbull produced the necessary paperwork from his briefcase, placing it on the desk. His softly tanned hand rested on the file as he briefly ran through the summary of the report. 

 "You see, this connection will enable European-Australian relations, especially since we are not part of the European Union. What we want to do is to implement a system much like yours: Efficient, cost-effective and beneficial to both parties-" 

 Liechti dismissed him with the wave of his hand "Forgive me for interrupting you, but we must get to the meeting soon." He was just about to give back the file to Turnbull when his hand accidentally came into contact with the other man's hand. 

 Turnbull did not seem to react, even feeling amused with how flustered the younger man was. The gesture merely reminded him of the way Lucy had touched his hand as they relaxed on the veranda of their Sydney home. It had been far too long since he had seen her and he was even slightly relaxed at the contact.

 But Liechti, in nervousness, quickly drew away as if he experienced an electric shock. He stood up, his head down and walked quickly to the door, Turnbull following him with a smile. "We're going to be late." He mumbled gruffly. 

 

A large audience was waiting for them as they entered the room. Most were journalists, with their phones and notepads at the ready, beaming at the Australian and possibly new business partner who was walking through. Despite this being in a completely different country, this felt like another press conference that he was used to attending. This made him all the more calm and he had even forgotten how tired he was a while ago. 

 "Today, we have the Australian Minister of Communications Malcolm Turnbull with us today." A cheery brunette woman announced on the podium. "Please give him a warm welcome."

 The audience clapped, yet the applause was short lived. There was a far more important matter at hand. 

 "Thank you, Helen." Turnbull said, catching sight of her nametag. He took his place at the podium on the right, while Liechti stood behind the one on the left. He glared at him slightly as Turnbull eyed the pretty woman who sat down at the front, who was beaming at him sweetly. 

 "Now today is a very important day for us." Liechti started, his hands firmly on the podium "In fact, it is almost like a new page in history. Today, Australia and we are making the beginnings of the Swisscom-NBN integration. This is a broadband policy which will benefit for both countries." He turned to Turnbull formally. "Could you tell us Australia's interests in this plan, please?"

 "Certainly, Klaus." Turnbull replied politely, smiling at him and at the audience "Australia and Switzerland, although countries that are located in different continents are not at all that different to one another. And in this technological age, the world is merely getting smaller and smaller. We are practically partners, and so we have been meaning to execute a plan which will bridge us even closer." He looked over at Liechti, who looked slightly frustrated with how long he was taking to get to the point "We want, for the interests of both of our countries, to have a broadband policy that is cost-effective, operates efficiently and is sufficient for the long term. We want to adopt a system like Switzerland's to make broadband easily accessible to all Australians. And at the same time, we want to also help supply the materials for Switzerland as well." 

 A member from the audience put up a hand. It was a little too early for questions, but Turnbull acknowledged it. "Yes?" He asked. 

 The hand belonged to a young reporter with large glasses and prominent acne scarring. "Mr Turnbull, you say that you want to help us. But it sounds to me like you just want to copy our system. How will this benefit _our_ country?" 

 Turnbull looked surprised at the loaded question, but nevertheless, he pursued. "That is a good question..." He began, using the comment as a tactic to buy himself more time to think of a response "As I mentioned, Australia's role in this cooperation is rather vital. We have the copper that we can send over to Switzerland for the wires. This is because copper is actually cheaper than fibre thus more cost-effective. In return, we take a system like yours which is faster than the current system that we have in Australia." 

 "Sir, could you tell us more about the partnership between the two companies?" A female audience member asked. She was taking copious notes in her notebook. 

 "Well, you see," Turnbull began "The partnership involves Swisscom and NBN joining together as one unit. The number of offices will be greatly reduced, thus being cost-effective. This also allows better cooperation between the two companies as Swisscom can better monitor what exactly NBN has been trying to do and assist them on improvement to their services and vice versa. With less offices, there is more space for installing nodes for broadband, which will also increase the speed of Internet for millions of Australians and Swiss alike." 

 "But what about jobs?" a voice at the back of the room asked. 

 Turnbull smiled, trying to hide the feeling of inadequacy that was starting to creep up on him 

 "Yeah!" Someone else shouted out. Their accent sounded slightly more French "How about employment? If there are fewer offices, jobs will be cut. Is this all about the money?"

 Quickly, Turnbull looked down at his notes, hoping that statistics would strengthen his claim. Nobody could dispute with facts. 

"This is not a matter of making money." Turnbull said soothingly, yet more to calm himself down rather than the audience "It is about _saving_ money. From 2013 up to 2015, we have more than doubled the number of jobs. Compared to the previous government-"

 "Enough with politics." A bald man sighed in annoyance "We did not come here to hear about Australian politics. It has nothing to do with us. Quite frankly, this whole seminar has been a waste of time. We wanted to know how this plan can benefit us as well, but it sounds to me like a terrible idea."

 A few more audience members jeered in agreement. 

 Turnbull quickly turned to Liechti, hoping that the man would say something to back him up…anything. 

 But to his disappointment, Liechti remained silent. He was all alone now. 

 "If you would just let me explain-" Turnbull began. But people were all quickly losing interest. He saw some get up from their chairs and make their way to the exit. Just as mob psychology would have it, more followed suit until to his dismay everyone had left except for Liechti. Even the pretty woman had left, although she did smile sadly at the Communications Minister as she did so. Yet this did not reassure him. Not one bit. 

 Both men were silent. Turnbull was disappointed. He had made the journey to Switzerland to make something that was important to so many people, and yet not a single member of the audience had cared to listen about this foreign connection. Glumly, he sat down on a chair. Liechti looked sheepishly down at his notes. 

 "What just happened?" He inquired, trying to hide the upset in his voice "I thought many of them would be interested in this plan. What could possibly put them off about it?"

 Liechti still did not say a thing. 

 Suddenly, Turnbull glared up at him. "I thought we were a team. Why didn't you speak up?" He was standing up now and walking towards the Swiss man. "Why didn't you?" He repeated demandingly "Tell me!" 

 "I am sorry, Herr Turnbull….I guess it was never going to work." Liechti said miserably. 

 "What do you mean 'it was never going to work'?" Turnbull inquired, anger still present in his voice. The other man looked so small, so powerless against his yells…pathetic. He had almost felt sorry for him. But being a previous lawyer, he could detect that the other man had something to hide "Are you telling me that you had emailed me to come up all the way to Switzerland so that you can make a fool out of me?" 

 Liechti glanced up nervously at the other man's eyes. The blue orbs were blazing so fiercely, he felt as if he would be engulfed in them. "Yes.." He said, almost in a whisper. Turnbull waited, as if the other man still had something more to say. "Yes." Liechti admitted, louder this time. "I am truly sorry." 

 "So am I." Turnbull responded in disgust. He could not believe that he had wasted so much time to arrive and being filled with so much hope that it could ever work. "So am I." 

Shaking his head, he turned to leave the room. 

 "Wait.." Liechti said, his tone filled with fright. Turnbull kept walking. With hesitation, the other man tugged his sleeve. 

  _Pathetic._

"Please, I haven't finished yet, Herr Turnbull. Could you please just stop?" 

 The overuse of the word "please" and the terrified tone that came along with it merely increased Turnbull's sympathy. He faced him, allowing him to continue. He was far too exhausted to argue with him. 

 Liechti tried to adjust his glasses as they were slipping off his nose. "I know it was not the best plan, but I did not know how I could see you. I remember attending a press conference in your country a few months back…and well…" He trailed off; shrugging his shoulders in dismay "It does not matter anyway. I have upset you." He took out the mobile phone from his pocket "Let me order a taxi for you. It is the least that I can do." 

 "Klaus…" Turnbull began, but the other man had refused to say any more on the matter. They waited outside of the building for a short while until finally the taxi arrived. Turnbull looked at the younger man expectantly, but the other remained tight-lipped. "Have a safe trip back." He said uttered quietly before turning back and heading to his office. Turnbull had wanted to follow him, but by then, it was too dark. The taxi driver was waiting so he climbed into the car, arriving back to the hotel. 

 

 Once Turnbull had finally arrived at his hotel room, he got ready for bed straight away. His eyes felt heavy as he laid his head against the pillow and began to drift to sleep. Rather than dreaming properly, however, his mind flashed back to the events of the day and the way Liechti had been so distant and aloof…yet the man's reaction when he had placed a hand on his just did not make sense. In addition to that, Liechti had sounded so distressed as they stood together before he had departed from him. What could have brought on that change in behaviour? And one thing Liechti had said stayed in his mind, complete with a bespectacled, mournful gaze. 

  _I know it was not the best plan, but I did not know how I could see you..._

 See him? Why would he want to see him? If Liechti had thought of broadband the same as his fellow Swiss people, which was likely, then it made no sense as to why he would ask him to visit. Perhaps he was to give him advice on broadband, but it was unlikely that he would offer him advice for nothing in return. He had not even cared when Turnbull had arrived; refusing to meet his eye and not even letting them discuss anything before the seminar. Liechti had stood there, silent and uncaring as the press devoured Turnbull. If anything, he had wanted him to suffer. Furthermore, Turnbull could not even get the image of Liechti's hand on his…it merely made him feel lonelier. He had not been able to contact Lucy and was missing her so much. Perhaps, if Lucy were in the audience, she would be a better support for him. She usually was. 

 Tomorrow, Turnbull decided, would be the day he would leave this miserable place. He was still so perplexed by today's events. But tomorrow, he would forget it all and return home. Liechti had no power on him and he was going to sleep on this issue. 

 

 Once the sun had risen, Turnbull was already dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast. The buffet room was practically empty. He had to wait for the chefs to begin. While he waited, he took out his iPad, checking Skype to see whether Lucy was online. Right now it was the perfect opportunity to see her. 

 To add to his loneliness, Lucy was not even online. He sighed in frustration and went to check his emails instead. But just as he was about to do so, he noticed another person sitting in the far end of the room, reading a newspaper. It was unusual that anyone else would be up so early. Yet the other person had not even flinched. Turnbull turned back to his iPad. 

 Five minutes later, food was starting to be served. Turnbull grabbed a couple of hard-boiled eggs, toast and bacon and sat down at the table. Even though it had been a dreadful trip, at least the food was delicious. He looked up at the newspaper figure. Fortunately, the paper was down and the man was cracking an egg into his coffee. Turnbull found the action quite unusual, but as his eyes moved towards the man's face, he was about to discover something that was even more unusual. 

 Liechti was sitting at the table drinking his coffee. 

 "Klaus?" Turnbull exclaimed, causing the man to jolt. The coffee spilled over the tablecloth, causing the man to curse in German. 

 "I am sorry for startling you." Turnbull apologised, getting up from his seat and walking over to sit down across from the Swiss. "What are you doing here?" He asked in amazement "I thought you lived in Bern…" 

 Liechti furiously wiped away the coffee stains the best he could. Fortunately none of it had touched his clothes. He took another sip of coffee. Or what was left of it anyway. 

 "Don't be ridiculous." The man scolded, "Do you think you are the only person who lives in this hotel?" He was frowning, and there were dark circles under his eyes. 

 Turnbull smiled slightly, noting the defensive tone. "It is a nice hotel." He admitted "But it does surprise me that you would be here. Housing can't be that expensive, surely." 

 "Forget it." Liechti grumbled. He stood up and grabbed his coat from the chair "It was pointless of me coming here anyway." 

 Suddenly, it all made sense. The Swiss man clearly had not lived in the hotel. But it only takes a certain kind of dedication to travel into another state to see someone...

 Turnbull chuckled. "You came here to see me?" He asked, a small smile creeping on his lips. 

 Even in the morning light, Liechti's cheeks were a noticeable shade of pink. "Yes. No. I…I don't know." He stammered hopelessly. 

 A certain kind of dedication indeed. 

 Turnbull placed a hand on Liechti's, smiling at him knowingly. "I know." He said. This time, Liechti's hand did not shift. He had felt more certain. The Swiss man looked up at the Australian shyly, into his eyes properly. 

 Without thinking, Liechti had scooped a hand into the older man's hair and their lips met. All of the feelings of loneliness that the Communications Minister had been experiencing since yesterday had dissipated. For the first time in a long time, the two had made a connection, familiar yet foreign at the same time. Turnbull felt his heartbeat quicken as they kissed, and he was sure that the other was feeling the same way. It would have gone on for an eternity, he was sure of it.

 Yet remembering that they were in a public place, the two quickly shifted apart. 

 "I emailed you to come here." Liechti babbled finally, shaking as he tried to recover from the kiss "I wanted to see you properly. I liked your speech and I wanted to spend time more time with you, so I invited you. But it does not matter. You have a wife and I have one too." He noticed how blue the other man's eyes were…like the Swiss Alps in summer. Liechti was sure that he was not going to forget them.  

 Turnbull gave a sad nod. "Yes." He was starting to like the man, but he could not afford to be unfaithful to his wife and especially not in a public place where the media were sure to be hanging around the corner. It was too much of a risk to take. Instead, he took out a hand and Liechti shook it.

 Liechti's handshake was warm, yet firm. He had tried not to stare into the other man's eyes for too long, as if regretting what had passed between the two. 

 "Take care and have a safe trip." Liechti said finally, smiling softly. 

 The Australian smiled in return "And you take care of yourself." He said, giving the other a pat on the shoulder. He could not bring himself to see the hurt painted on the other man's face. It was just regret, so much regret. Regret for loving someone he could not have, and regret for having to leave him behind on the other side of the world. The kiss should never have happened, yet there was no way to take it back. Things would never be the same again. 

 He walked away, leaving Liechti behind, and eventually the country. Now, he must forget about him and everything about Switzerland. Cast his mind away from something that was just utterly impossible. Surely, after going back to Australia, he was never going to see Liechti again, especially now that Swisscom did not want to have anything to do with NBN.  

 

 Yet as he sat on the plane, watching the Swiss Alps drift away from him, he heard a ding on his iPad. Another notification, probably. 

 Turnbull went to check the message and felt himself smiling as he read it. 

  _This isn't goodbye. Broadband will always bring us closer._

_-Klaus_

 

Someday, Turnbull thought, turning off the iPad screen as he remembered the Swiss man, someday he would find a way to enhance this foreign connection. 

**Author's Note:**

> German translation key: 
> 
> Fräulein: Usually a formal way to address a young woman, although this way of address is less common in recent years.
> 
> Herr: Mr
> 
>  
> 
> Sprechen Sie Deutsch?: Do you speak German?


End file.
